FCC approves AT&T's bid to buy Comcast spectrum

The FCC yesterday approved AT&T's bid to soak up spectrum from Comcast, stating the "proposed transactions would serve the public interest." The deal gives AT&T licenses to AWS-1 and WCS spectrum in 608 markets, covering 82 percent of the U.S. population in 48 states.

In the FCC's report, AT&T states that the spectrum is "'underutilized' due to various 'technical obstacles.'"

The benefits to AT&T customers won't be seen anytime very soon, as the company estimates an LTE infrastructure deployment on the WCS spectrum in "as little as three years."

In October, AT&T announced the acquisition of spectrum rights from NextWave Wireless for $600 million. At that time, AT&T also announced plans to pick up spectrum from Comcast.